Bendigo hit form after the mid-season bye and won six successive games. “I think that group of six wins we had through the middle of the year was great – we just got on a role. Ben Haynes returned from his shoulder injury and played really well, Courtney Johns came into the side and injected a bit of enthusiasm. We had that bad game against Box Hill and after that, they really bounced back and then was some really tidy footy played through that period,” Banfield said.
Losses in the last three rounds resulted in Bendigo missing the finals and finishing in 10th position. Despite being disappointed at not featuring in the September action, Banfield was pleased with the progress and improvement the team showed throughout the season. “Coming into they year, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had no understanding of the young Essendon players and how they play. I also had no idea on how the Bendigo guys and how they played. I came in completely cold, so I was a bit unaware of what to expect. What I did know from being at Melbourne, is that if you have ‘x’ amount of AFL players you generally go pretty well,"" Banfield said.
Development coach David Flood was also disappointed the team didn't make the finals, but said they put in some memorable performances throughout the season. “We had an average start to the year and our middle part of the year was very good. We got beaten badly by Box Hill and then we won six games in a row. We needed to win two of the last three games to make the finals and we got beaten. We lost twice to Frankston and Coburg during the year and that hurt us. In the end we didn’t make the finals, which was disappointing,” Flood said.
Banfield had the challenge of working with two squads. Bendigo and Essendon would rarely train together throughout the season, so in a bid for the players from the two squads to get to know each other better, Essendon would travel to Bendigo the night before a home match and the team would have dinner together and a team meeting. “I think as the year went on the team really grew in confidence and the players got to know each other better. Travelling up the night before to Bendigo, really worked and I think there is a few things we can improve on, but in the main I think it was a worthwhile exercise to do from the clubs point of view,” Flood said.
One of the highlights of the season for Banfield was the improvement of some of the younger Essendon players. Marc Bullen is one player that particularly impressed the Bendigo Bombers coach. ""I have probably seen a couple of players that have really improved this year. Marc Bullen played the first six games in the VFL and he was really fighting early and I had to throw him around a bit. He started in the mid-field and then moved him to the backline. He played a few good games and then I put him back in the centre and he then got his senior opportunity. That was really good for Marc,” Banfield said.
The Bendigo Bombers squad is currently on a two-month break. Banfield said the team will resume training in mid November like Essendon. Banfield is currently in the process of fine-tuning the list and is hoping to get a couple of new players into the team that will help Bendigo make the finals next year. “If we can add a couple of players with a bit more experience and strength it will really boost the depth and help the group. I will look in local leagues and look over in other state competitions. I am also looking at players that might be delisted, but would be a really good VFL player,” Banfield said.
